Feasibility and Validity of Early Screening for Identifying Infants With Poor Social-Communication Development in a Well-Baby Clinic System

ObjectiveThis study examined the feasibility and validity of implementing an autism spectrum disorders (ASD) screening for 12-month-old infants.MethodParents of 583 infants, 12 months of age attending well baby clinics (WBCs), completed the First Year Inventory-Lite (FYI-L). Ten infants who failed the FYI-L and a subset of 12 infants who passed the identified FYI-L were evaluated using the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Information regarding social-communication development ≥ 24 months of age was extracted from medical records of 153 of the 583 infants.ResultsMean response rate across clinics was 26.63%. Infants at risk compared to controls showed significantly higher scores on the AOSI, lower composite scores on the MSEL, and a higher rate of referral for a developmental evaluation. At 24 months, 95% of infants who were negatively screened had no social-communication problems on their medical records; 60% of those who were screened positive had documented problems on medical records.ConclusionASD screening using the FYI-L at 12 months in a healthcare setting identifies infants with poor social-communication development, yet parents had low compliance with screening.